Eastern European Childs Gusle

This was another instrument I found at a large import store in San José, California. This is not a rebec, as it can appear to be at first, but a small, child's version of the Yugoslavian gusle. It is a single carved and hollowed piece of very hard oak with a sheep skin stretched over the soundbox and "stapled" with wood pegs. The bow is maple and has a wooden tuning peg to tighten the string.

The gusle has a single string stretched over the neck and soundbox at about 3/4" high. There is no fingerboard. To play, the string is stopped (fretted) with the top of a fingernail while bowing with the other hand.

With the short bow, a player can only make short stacatto-like sounds. Both instrument and bow are strung with nylon.